Need an Irrigation Renovation?

Brian Vinchesi

Irrigation renovations are a hot topic. It’s funny how a little brown turf gets the membership and the board’s attention. Many superintendents are explaining why a single-row system results in wet, soft middles and dry, hard edges.

Courses that put off irrigation improvements for years are now very interested in making improvements. Unfortunately, if it rains, they will quickly forget how the course looked in the dry weather. If you need an irrigation system renovation, take lots of pictures to document how your course looked so you can jog their memories.

While you have brown grass, you may have to do some selling to show the need. One way is with an irrigation system evaluation by an irrigation consultant who will document the good and bad parts of the system, as well as what improvements will accomplish. However, if your owner or membership knows the system is already past its useful life, then an evaluation is a waste of money. Move on to planning.

Renovating an irrigation system doesn’t happens overnight. It takes planning and input. It also requires accurate hard costs. Estimates no longer work; you can’t just say “about $2.3 million.” If you seek approval, have bid numbers that can be written into a contract to show an owner or membership. You may have to spring for a design to get to the hard numbers, but the cost is worth it.

Many owners or clubs want to phase in an irrigation renovation for cash-flow reasons. Phasing is discussed by most courses, but rarely is it done due to the increased costs. Phasing or not, you will need a plan that accounts for a system installed in phases. This design details where the installation is going in the future and so you don’t end up doing things over in a subsequent phase.

Since most irrigation system renovations end up watering more area, your water use may go up, so make sure you have enough water. Also, consider future water availability issues for your course. Will you have less water or a different source of water? Will regulation impact your supply quantity or quality? You may have to plan a system that is flexible if the water supply changes.

Weight technology because you don’t want a new system that is technically outdated in only a few years. New technologies include soil moisture sensors, top-serviceable sprinklers, smart solenoids, and system integration.

Unlike the old days when pump systems and irrigation systems were independent of each other, today’s technologies allow the irrigation control system and the pump system to communicate and make changes based on what each is doing. Add soil moisture sensing to the communication mix and let the irrigation schedule adapt to what the sensors are seeing in the field – much like a weather station, but with a more localized reading. With today’s 2-wire control technology, no one really knows what the future holds.

An irrigation upgrade may be part of a larger project that includes a golf course renovation. This can be good and bad. Many times the course renovation requires the upgrade or replacement of the irrigation system to support the enhancements to the course layout. On the other hand, needed irrigation system upgrades have died on the vine waiting for the powers that be to decide on the extent of the course renovations. When renovation costs or indecision kills the overall project, out goes the much needed irrigation system.

How you package the irrigation system renovation, upgrade or replacement is important. The first question from boards will be how quickly will the new system pay itself back with water, electrical and labor savings?

News flash: Never!

Irrigation is a necessary part of a golf course. The system wears out like any other piece of equipment or, like bunkers, deteriorates over time. Just like the irrigation system needs to be planned, so does its expense. Every club is different in how they find money for large capital projects. Know how the club finances large capital projects and include it in your planning and schedule.

Today’s irrigation renovations are expensive and accurate cost estimating is essential to getting projects approved. Plan out the irrigation system, its financing and how to sell it to the decision makers.

Brian Vinchesi, the 2009 EPA WaterSense Irrigation Partner of the Year, is president of Irrigation Consulting Inc., a golf course irrigation design and consulting firm headquartered in Pepperell, Mass., that designs irrigation systems throughout the world. He can be reached at bvinchesi@irrigationconsulting.com or 978/433-8972.